Seaside Embrace (Love in Bloom Read online

  Good to know. Toying with Hunter was the perfect way to relax. “It does?” she said in the most seductive voice she could muster.

  “Jana,” he growled.

  Oh, this is so fun! She was giddy despite herself and couldn’t resist using her best Little Miss Innocent voice. “What, Hunter? You don’t want to hear about how the bubbles are just starting to dissipate and I can see my nipples poking through the surface, and—”

  “Fuuuck,” he whispered.

  Hearing the restraint in his tone turned her on. She’d never had phone sex before, but teasing Hunter was too much fun to stop.

  “Now, that sounds like a good idea, but since you’re there and I’m here…” She sank lower into the water. “The water’s getting cooler, but I’m getting warmer.”

  “You’re getting…” He said something she couldn’t make out. Then she heard him moving around. “I’m taking the baby monitor into the guest room.”

  “Look at you, all responsible like a big boy.”

  “I’ll show you a big boy,” he growled.

  Jana’s body shuddered with that promise. She heard a door close and then Hunter breathing harder.

  “Tell me what you’re doing, Hunter.” She slammed her eyes shut and mouthed, Oh my God! to the empty bathroom, unable to believe she was actually doing this.

  “I’m getting comfortable, taking off my jeans.” She heard the sound of what she assumed was his clothes landing on hardwood. Then he came back on the line.

  “Okay, pretty girl.” Confidence controlled his deep, lust-filled voice. “I want to see you.”

  “What?” Her eyes flew open wide. “No.”

  “Come on. Let’s FaceTime. It’s just you and me. Billy’s asleep. Let me see that pretty face of yours.”

  “No. No way.” Her body prickled with excitement at the enticing thought of crossing another line with Hunter.

  “You won’t let me see those gorgeous blue eyes of yours while we get naughty?”

  She didn’t answer, because a big part of her wanted to watch him touch himself, too. The idea had her panting. Her nipples were on fire they were so hungry for his touch.

  “Have you done this before?” he asked.

  She contemplated lying, but “No” slipped out before she could stop it.

  He was quiet for a long moment before saying, just above a whisper, “Neither have I.”

  He was silent again, and she knew he was being honest.

  “I’ve never wanted to pleasure a woman without being in the room before, but the thought of making you come with just my words and your hands? Jana, that’s so fucking hot.”

  She felt her cheeks heat up, and she was so caught up in thinking about watching him touch himself that she couldn’t respond.

  “You still there, pretty girl?”

  “Mm-hm.”

  “I trust you, Jana. Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, unsure if she’d said anything at all.

  “Good, because you can. One of the things I like most about you is that you’re not afraid to enjoy your sexuality.”

  She closed her eyes, feeling nervous and excited at once.

  “You’re not afraid to tell me what you like,” he said in a heady voice, “or to take what you want from me. Most women aren’t like that. Did you know that?”

  “No,” she whispered.

  “You’re different. I think that’s why we keep coming back to each other. Because we’re the same in that way, Jana. With you, I can be myself. I can take, demand, push the limits, and I know you’ll tell me to back off if I come on too hard. You will, pretty girl, won’t you?”

  “Yes.” Her body was trembling now, not from the tepid water, but from the anticipation of doing something so naughty with Hunter. The scintillating sound of his voice had always turned her inside out, but right now it had her on pins and needles.

  “Good. I always want you to feel like you can tell me what you want. What you need.”

  The air left her lungs in a nervous rush. She slid one hand beneath the water and touched the slick heat between her legs, trying to ease her needy ache.

  “Jana?”

  “Mm.” Eyes closed, her finger moved over her swollen sex.

  “Tell me you want me, baby.” His voice was thick with need, and she knew he wanted, maybe even needed, to hear it, but she wasn’t about to give in.

  “Never.” The word came out heated, accompanied by a smirk.

  “Fuck, Jana. Really?”

  “Really.” She smiled, eyes still closed.

  “You’re going to be the death of me.”

  “Not tonight, I hope.”

  He laughed, a deep, sexy laugh that made her want him even more.

  “I want to see you, pretty girl.”

  The hand between her legs stilled. Her eyes blinked open. She could say no. Deny him what he wanted. But that would be denying herself what she wanted, too.

  Chapter Eight

  HUNTER’S HANDS WERE shaking. He had no idea what had possessed him to turn up the heat with Jana, but hell if he wasn’t hard as stone and ready to play. The baby was fast asleep, he had the baby monitor, and the doors were locked. So it wasn’t worry over Billy that was causing his hands to tremble. He was nervous about what they were about to do. He’d never jerked off in front of a woman before, but with Jana, he couldn’t imagine anything more erotic.

  “I want to see you, too.” Her voice sounded thin and shaky, and he knew she was nervous, too.

  “I’m going to end this call and FaceTime you. Don’t go anywhere.” He ended the call, ran into the guest bathroom, where he’d seen a bottle of lotion, and tossed it on the bed while the FaceTime call connected faster than he thought possible. The idea that Jana might back out in the thirty seconds it took to call made his heart race.

  Her face appeared on his screen, and he could see the porcelain tub behind her shoulders, water at the crest of her collarbone, and the rosy blush on her cheeks, which was beyond sexy. She smiled, then immediately trapped her lower lip between her teeth. He wanted to climb through the phone and kiss her luscious lips. She was so fucking brave it blew him away.

  “Hey, pretty girl.” He was shirtless, wearing only his black boxer briefs. He held the phone where he knew she couldn’t see lower than his chest. His heart was racing so fast he worried she’d be able to tell.

  “Hey.”

  “Nervous?”

  She nodded.

  “Me too. You look so damn sweet. Not at all like the mouthy blonde I’m used to.”

  Her brows drew together, but the edges of her lips curved up. “Well, you don’t have that arrogant tilt to your smile, either. You sure this is okay while you’re babysitting?”

  He held up the baby monitor so she could see it. “The magic of electronics. I’d never do anything to endanger Billy.”

  She blinked several times. “I know you wouldn’t.” Her voice was breathy, and he wished he could feel it on his skin.

  “Can you set up the phone so I can see you? Free your hands?”

  She pressed her lips together and her eyes darted around the tub. “Yeah, but it’s getting cold in here. Hold on.” She set the phone against something, giving him a clear shot of the upper half of her body as she leaned forward, and he heard water running. “I’m adding warm water; hold on.” She went up on her hands and knees, and he thought he might come at the view of her up on all fours.

  “Holy hell, you’re fucking incredible, pretty girl.” He palmed his cock through his briefs, then quickly took them off and set them on the chair by the bed in case Billy woke up.

  “Stop. You’re embarrassing me,” she said as she turned off the warm water and settled back into the tub.

  He set the phone up on the bedside table so she could see his face.

  “Lower, please,” she said.

  His eyes shot to hers. “You are a naughty, naughty vixen, Jana Garner. And I like you way more than I should right now.” He hesitated before mo
ving the phone. He was torn. He wanted to watch her face while she touched herself, but getting a view of her whole body and face would be ideal.

  “Set the phone farther away, so I can see all of you.”

  “You first,” she snapped. Her confidence had returned, and it sent fire through his veins.

  “Christ.” He shifted on the bed so he was farther from the bedside table, and she had a clear shot of him from mid-thighs up. He gripped the base of his cock and squeezed, trying to quell the dull ache at the base of his spine.

  “Wow, the angle makes you look huge!” She laughed.

  “I am huge, and you know it.”

  “Well, let’s not get into that debate.” She laughed again as she moved her phone into position.

  “Christ,” he grumbled. Now he wanted to climb through the phone so he could remind her just how huge he really was. Again and again and again.

  “I can’t believe we’re going to do this. If you tell anyone about this—ever—I swear I’ll castrate you!”

  “You know I never kiss and tell. Besides, you think I want other guys picturing you naked in a bathtub?” As he said the words, possessiveness that was usually reserved for those closest to him flared in his chest, taking him by surprise. Before he could stop himself, he said, “Tell me you won’t do this with anyone else.” Fuck. That came out more demanding than he meant it to.

  “What? Do you think that after doing this with you, I’ll suddenly want to do it with everyone?” She rolled her eyes. “Hunter,” she said softly. “I never would.”

  She rested her head back against the tub and closed her eyes. She was so trusting, it made his possessive urges spread like wildfire. When she opened her eyes and turned to face the phone, her shoulders dropped the tiniest bit, like she had been mentally preparing herself for what they were about to do.

  “Close your eyes again,” he said quietly.

  “Why?” Confusion riddled her brow.

  “Because you looked so sexy. Just for a second.”

  “But I want to see you.”

  “Jesus, woman. Stop arguing for thirty seconds and close your eyes.” He wished the lights were out and there were candles, which was weird as shit, because that’s another thing he never did. Light candles for a woman. But for some reason, he wanted that for Jana.

  When she finally closed her eyes, he took a moment to get his fill of her. Her full, heavy breasts were clearly visible beneath the soapy water. He loved to hold them, taste them, tease them. His eyes traveled lower to one bent knee, and lower still, to where her hand lay over her left hip.

  When he spoke, his voice was thick with desire, and soft. “Imagine a dark room, candles set up around the tub.”

  “Mm. I like that.”

  “You’re lying against my chest. My thighs press against your hips. My cock is hard against your back as I reach around and cup your breasts. Touch your breasts for me, pretty girl.”

  She cupped her breasts.

  “That’s it. Now brush those beautiful nipples with your thumbs.”

  She did, and her lips parted with a sigh, a barely audible moan escaping.

  “That’s my girl. Jesus, you’re so sexy.” He put lotion on his palm and fisted his cock, pumping slowly as he watched her.

  “Now move your hand down your stomach…That’s it, slowly, as if it were mine. What do you want me to do to you, pretty girl?”

  “Touch me,” she panted out.

  “Touch yourself where you want me to touch you.” She slid her fingers between her legs, and her neck craned back as she moaned. Then she lifted her head and glared into the phone with a seductive, dark stare.

  Her lips curved up as she watched him stroking himself. She licked her lips, swallowed hard, and then her lips parted again. The hungry look in her eyes nearly took him over the edge.

  “I like this game,” she said in a throaty voice that was sexy as fuck.

  “Put your fingers inside yourself, as if they were my cock. Tell me how it feels.” He watched as her other knee broke the surface, and her legs fell open. Her knee blocked his view in the tub, and her eyes were glued to his hand as he pumped his hard length. “Talk to me, pretty girl. How does it feel? I can’t see. You have to tell me.”

  “I’m…too busy watching you.”

  “Squeeze your nipple while you finger-fuck yourself.”

  She did and cried out, arching up. Her eyes closed as her head lolled back. Hunter grabbed his balls with his free hand.

  “Let me see you, baby. Look at me.” He was so close to coming he had to squeeze the base of his cock again to regain control.

  She opened her eyes, and he could tell she was almost there, too. Her gaze was hazy, her eyes fluttering open and closed.

  “Feels…so…good.”

  “You do feel good, baby. You’re so tight, so slick with need. Make yourself come, but I want to hear you say my name when you do, and I want to see those beautiful eyes so I can get lost in you, too.”

  He saw her arm moving faster, and he quickened each stroke on his rigid shaft.

  “I’m gonna….” She brought her eyes to his. “Gonna come.”

  “Me too, baby. Squeeze your nipple again and let go, as if I were right there between your legs. Hard, fast—Oh shit! Jana—” Hot ribbons of come shot across his chest at the same time as she cried out his name. “Hunter! Oh God!”

  Their eyes locked, and Hunter swore that in that split second everything changed. He didn’t just see Jana in a bathtub, with the flush of her orgasm glistening on her cheeks. He saw only Jana. His Jana. He lay back, eyes still on her, feeling bound to a woman for the first time in his life. He smiled, hoping she felt it, too, but she was leaning forward, reaching, and she ended the call. And his heart did that notice me thing again, only this time it felt dark and heavy as sadness consumed him.

  Chapter Nine

  ALL MORNING JANA felt elated, liberated even, like she’d joined a new club. The Virtual Sex Club, she mused. She loved the way Hunter had looked at her last night, the way he’d made her feel sexy and sensual instead of dirty or cheap, and seeing him touch himself? Well, there were no words to describe the delight she’d taken in that little nugget of pleasure. She could have watched him all night long—until she just couldn’t.

  She’d turned off the phone in the same way she’d always snuck out after he fell asleep: without a word. Only this time she hadn’t escaped a morning after. She’d escaped the emotions she’d thought she’d locked away years ago, which were responding to everything they’d shared and threatened to reveal themselves because of the way he’d looked at her in those last few seconds.

  Now, as she parked her car in front of the laundry building in the Seaside cottage community to meet Sky and the girls for breakfast, her nerves came alive.

  She angled the rearview mirror and looked over her face. Would they be able to tell what she’d done? Did she look…sluttier? Ugh! The girls were definitely not sexually repressed, but what she’d done last night suddenly felt forbidden. Beyond naughty. And Hunter was Sky’s brother, which made it feel even more like she was crossing a line. She really needed to either stop sleeping with Hunter, or...what? Admit to Sky she was having lots of great sex with Hunter but they weren’t even dating?

  Why did she think she could do this? It was one thing to hook up and then go on with her days like Hunter was any other guy, but he was Sky’s brother! She needed to wipe the freshly fucked glow off her face. How did he do this to her with virtual sex? The man was a master at seduction.

  A knock on her window made her jump. She cut the engine and smiled up at Bella, who was holding baby Summer on her hip and balancing a bowl of dry cereal in her hands. Summer had blond hair like her mama and big brown eyes. She reached her pudgy hands out to Jana as Jana stepped from the car, and as she took the sweet girl in her arms, all her worries melted away.

  The power of babies seemed to have grown exponentially overnight.

  “You’re right on time,” Bella
said, pulling her into a gentle hug. “The guys just took off for a run, and Leanna brought her newest jam creation for us to try. Oh my gosh, you should see Sloan! He looks just like Leanna now. It’s amazing how much babies can change in a few weeks, and Dustin? A Jamie mini-me with Jessica’s eyes. Crazy cute, I’m telling you.”

  Jana couldn’t get a word in edgewise, but she didn’t care. She was in heaven with Summer pulling on her hair and giggling as she tickled her pudgy belly. They walked across the quad, which is what they called the grassy area between the cottages where they had bonfires and cookouts.

  It was a sunny, breezy morning. Crows cawed in the pitch pine trees, and their girlfriends’ chatting and giggling made Jana smile.

  “Jana!” Leanna was the first to greet her. They hadn’t seen each other in weeks, and Leanna looked as happy as always. Her dark hair was tousled, and when she drew back from the hug, she slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my goodness. I got Strawberry Spice jam all over you. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m on it.” Jenna pulled Leanna away and began wiping down Jana’s shirt with a wet washcloth. “With babies around, I’m always prepared. I should have had a baby years ago. I could have saved lots of stains from Leanna’s hugs.”

  “Thanks, Jenna, but it’s really okay.” Jana set Summer in her high chair and went around the table to kiss the others. “Hannah banana looks just like you, Amy.” She kissed Hannah’s cheek and Hannah held up a fistful of cut-up peaches. “No, thank you, sweet girl. You eat it.”

  Hannah shoved the food in her mouth with a giggle.

  “Oh my goodness, look at you.” Jana squeezed Jessica’s shoulder. “Can I hold Dustin? Please?”

  “Absolutely.” Jessica lifted Dustin into Jana’s arms.

  “He’s like a lump of doughy cuteness,” Jana said as she touched her nose to his cheek. “And he smells so…babyish.” She looked from Jessica to Dustin and back. “I hate to say this, Jess, but this baby is all Jamie, from his jet-black hair to that stubborn little chin. He has your eyes, but wow. I’m surprised you didn’t name him Jamie II.”